[DRAFT] Driving Under the Illumination

[Cretox State]

An issue about litter on the side of highways poorly lit roads. Any suggestions regarding the title would be especially appreciated.

Draft 2: Reworked the premise.

Driving Under the Illumination

Validity: Must have cars.

Description
While traveling through the rainy @@DEMONYM@@ countryside at night on your way to visit some extended family, you notice your driver struggling to see the road ahead of you due to the absence of any form of road lighting.

Option 1
"Holy Violet!" shrieks your driver, almost swerving into a ditch after narrowly missing a deer that ran across the road. "Unlit roads are plain unsafe and near-impossible to drive on at night, especially in remote areas! People need to be able to drive without risking their lives. Reflective markers and poles on every road along with lighting equipment on the major ones should do the trick."

Effect: seizures are the leading cause of car accidents
Alternate: wearing sunglasses while driving at night is a must

Option 2
"Covering every road in the country with big lights and traffic markers? Are you nuts?" asks Finance Minister @@RANDOMNAME@@, crawling out from underneath your seat. "The rational choice would be to mandate that every car in @@NAME@@ be fitted with powerful headlights and advanced safety features. That way, people can drive safely without us having to fund infrastructure that won't even be needed most of the time."

Effect: next-generation cars are covered in glow-in-the-dark bubble wrap

Option 3
Suddenly, the car screeches to a halt as you see what looks like your Environmental Minister standing on the road ahead of you. She says, "You didn't need any fancy lights to see me! And what about all the light pollution? If anything, we should remove all lights from our nation's roads, so they stop being so disruptive to local wildlife and people living nearby. Also, can I have a lift?"

Effect: vehicle collision reports have never been darker

Option 4
"Now hold on there just a minute!" yells your Minister of Creative Solutions as he hops out of the trunk. "It seems to me the issue is people driving at night. So why don't we just ban people from driving at night? Problem solved!"

Effect: the future of roadside motels is looking bright

Driven to Panic

Validity: Must have cars.

Description
While driving across @@NAME@@ earlier this month, two Brancalandian diplomats noticed a huge amount of garbage littering the sides of nearly every highway they traveled on. Naturally, they decided to bring it up with you directly.

Option 1
"@@LEADER@@, this is a travesty!" exclaims one of the diplomats, comforting himself by chugging maple syrup straight from the bottle. "You simply must take action. We counted three @@ANIMALPLURAL@@ on one exit ramp just outside of @@CAPITAL@@! In Brancaland, we have a public service tasked with ensuring our nation's roads are spotless. We implore you to implement the same here. Do it for your people!"

Effect: driving tourists are trailed by government agents specializing in garbage disposal

Option 2a
Validity: Must not have digital currency.

"Bah! Do these Brancs think we're made of money?" scoffs Treasury Minister @@RANDOMNAME@@, pinching a coin so hard it's beginning to fuse with @@HIS@@ skin. "What we need are strict laws against highway littering, with crushing fines for anyone who disobeys. If we task existing traffic cops with enforcement, and use sanitation workers to clean up any big messes, we'll be making a tidy profit!"

Effect: throwing a bug out of a car is considered a heinous crime
Alternate: government employees are made to write reports on why they're overworked

Option 2b
Validity: Must have digital currency.

"Bah! Do these Brancs think we're made of money?" scoffs Treasury Minister @@RANDOMNAME@@, pinching a worthless coin so hard it's beginning to fuse with @@HIS@@ skin. "What we need are strict laws against highway littering, with crushing fines for anyone who disobeys. If we task existing traffic cops with enforcement, and use sanitation workers to clean up any big messes, we'll be making a tidy profit!"

Effect: throwing a bug out of a car is considered a heinous crime
Alternate: government employees are made to write reports on why they're overworked

Option 3
Validity: Must have market economy.

"Once again, business has the answer!" exclaims your Minister of Conflict Resolution, who's also on the board of the nation's biggest @@MAJORINDUSTRY@@ company. "If you let private corporations take up the responsibility of keeping certain areas of highway clean, it'll be cheaper and more efficient than doing it ourselves or passing some frankly unenforceable laws. I'm certain companies will jump at the chance to do it in exchange for some incentives, like plenty of advertising space on that section of road."

Effect: the nation's roads are littered with so much advertising it blots out the sun

Option 4
"Why don't we just make prisoners do it?" asks the head of the nation's largest prison, using your secretary as a footstool. "I mean, we have a huge manpower pool to draw from, and we don't have to pay them squat! Sure, some might call it slavery, but they won't be complaining once everyone sees how spotless our roads are and how little their taxes went up."

Effect: former mob bosses work in garbage disposal once more

Option 5
"Talk about solving a problem that doesn't exist," sighs your often-overlooked Minister of Wasted Management, whose title remains unfixed since his appointment. "Our nation's dumps are, well, a dump! They're overflowing with garbage, and all that space around highways? It's the perfect spot to leave our trash! If you boost my department's funding, we can convert every highway in @@NAME@@ into an easy place to dump waste. Sure, it might stink a bit, but isn't the convenience worth it?"

Effect: the nation's roads are the biggest thing stinking up its image
Alternate: people are flocking to cities to avoid driving at any cost

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Why does 3b require a state-run economy?

IRL, one of the biggest employer of state-sanctioned slave labour penal workers is also the most capitalist nation on Earth...

[Cretox State]

Why does 3b require a state-run economy?

IRL, one of the biggest employer of state-sanctioned slave labour penal workers is also the most capitalist nation on Earth...

It's because I felt that letting private companies do cleanup as an option is a no-brainer, and I wanted a version of that option for non-capitalists.

However, I could just as well change 3b to a full-fledged option 4.

[Australian rePublic]

Option 1- Bracenlandians wouldn't think that @@NAME@@ is "our" country

[Cretox State]

Option 1- Bracenlandians wouldn't think that @@NAME@@ is "our" country

Of course not: "In Brancaland, we have a national service tasked with ensuring our nation's roads are spotless. We implore you to implement the same here." Is there an issue with the wording I'm not seeing?

[Australian rePublic]

Option 1- Bracenlandians wouldn't think that @@NAME@@ is "our" country

Of course not: "In Brancaland, we have a national service tasked with ensuring our nation's roads are spotless. We implore you to implement the same here." Is there an issue with the wording I'm not seeing?

My bad. It's worded fine, save for the fact that "national service" means conscription

[Cretox State]

My bad. It's worded fine, save for the fact that "national service" means conscription

Really? Merriam-Webster defines a public service as "the business of supplying a commodity (such as electricity or gas) or service (such as transportation) to any or all members of a community."

[Cretox State]

Alright, I made option 4 into a standalone option rather than an alternate version of option 3.

[Australian rePublic]

My bad. It's worded fine, save for the fact that "national service" means conscription

Really? Merriam-Webster defines a public service as "the business of supplying a commodity (such as electricity or gas) or service (such as transportation) to any or all members of a community."

National service or public service? They're two very different things

[Cretox State]

National service or public service? They're two very different things

Changed.

[Cretox State]

Bumping this.

[Westinor]

The draft feels like a mashup of several environmental issues (I'm thinking particularly #97 and #344. How does the fact that the litter is on the highways make it any different from being anywhere else?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

344 is a pretty strong overlap, for sure. Yeah, that one might be a dealbreaker, unfortunately.

[Cretox State]

I largely swerved (hah) away from the initial premise.

[Westinor]

I'd suggest branching this off from Issue #462.1/3.

[Cretox State]

I'd suggest branching this off from Issue #462.1/3.

Isn't that one specifically about pedestrian street lights, not road lights?

[Westinor]

I'd suggest branching this off from Issue #462.1/3.

Isn't that one specifically about pedestrian street lights, not road lights?

Misread that, my bad

[Australian rePublic]

There's a simple solution to all this. These pole thingies (I forgot what they're called)

They reflect headlights on major highways where street lights aren't justified. They exist on all major highways in Australia where there aren't street lights. Apparently, in other countries, those pole thingies are there to guide snow plows

[Cretox State]

There's a simple solution to all this. These pole thingies (I forgot what they're called)

(Image)

They reflect headlights on major highways where street lights aren't justified. They exist on all major highways in Australia where there aren't street lights. Apparently, in other countries, those pole thingies are there to guide snow plows

I tried to incorporate that into options 1 and 2.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

462 came to my mind to. Whether pedestrian or highway lights, I think the issue is broadly the same. Light pollution vs safety.

I'm not convinced it's different enough to be needed.

[Cretox State]

Since the issue most likely wouldn't add anything new to the base under its current premise, I'll be putting this on hold and coming back to it if/when I have an idea for a good niche.